In the 76th minute, Celta Vigo went up 0-2. It seemed it was going to be a huge letdown after two tremendous matches for FC Barcelona, as they were running out of time. But then it happened – the team finally started to click. With Celta tiring, the blaugrana were able to score 3 goals in 8 minutes. João Cancelo would score the match-winner to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
While the match ended well, it didn’t start out that way. With Marcos Alonso pushing up and Cancelo pushing into the midfield, Celta found themselves with plenty of chances on the break. Oftentimes, the Galicians had a 4-3 advantage, with Oriol Romeu unable to effectively cover two opponents at once. Celta scored both times on breaks such as these, and their defense was very compact. The second half wasn’t much better, as Cancelo and Gavi couldn’t be tasked with controlling the midfield in these turnover situations. Barça were slow and unable to find a breakthrough.
But then, Xavi played the cards up his sleeve. Balde, Raphinha, and Yamal came on, and the team started to turn up the pressure. Balde and Cancelo pushed up into more traditional fullback roles, Raphinha played as a right midfielder (kind of), and they were able to bag three goals and pull off the win.
Let’s take a look at how each player performed in this one, starting with:
Goalkeeper
Marc-André ter Stegen – 6
While making 2 or 3 very nice saves, I can’t help but feel he should’ve done a little better on the two goals he did let in. While they weren’t his fault or anything like that, his performance today left a little something to be desired. His passing was fine, but not particularly needed in this one. While he wasn’t bad, can’t give anything more than a 6 to a keeper that conceded 2 goals.